Oromis
Oromis Thrándurin, known as Osthato Chetowä, The Mourning Sage, and Togira Ikonoka, The-Cripple-Who-Is-Whole, was an ancient Elf and a Dragon Rider who trained Brom, Morzan, and later Eragon. He was a philosopher and a logician, and was bonded to the last flesh-and-blood golden male Dragon named Glaedr. Oromis was considered by many as the wisest of the Council of the Elders. History Early life Oromis was born in Luthivíra as a member of House Thrándurin circa eight hundred years before the beginning of the Rider War. When Oromis was twenty, he was presented to a Dragon egg and Glaedr hatched for him. Prior to Galbatorix's rise to power, Oromis trained many young Riders and was an elder member of the Dragon Riders' council. Also, Oromis held much authority, as Galbatorix said in Brisingr that Oromis convinced the other council members to deny Galbatorix another dragon. Luckily Oromis did not teach Galbatorix, because Galbatorix personally hunted down and murdered each and every one of his teachers. Oromis and Glaedr taught both Brom and Saphira I and Morzan and Morzan's Dragon in the ways of the Dragon Riders. In Eldest, shortly after meeting Eragon, Oromis referred to Morzan as his greatest failure. Oromis also stated that Morzan took advantage of Brom and that he regretted not having stopped the immoral behavior. During the Fall of the Dragon Riders, Oromis lived in the city of Ilirea, but was forced to flee to Du Weldenvarden before The Forsworn attacked the city. Before he could escape, he was captured by two Forsworn members, Kialandí and Formora.Brisingr, Pg. 732 During his captivity and the subsequent battle that followed, Kialandi cast a spell taught to him by Galbatorix, who learned it in turn from Durza's spirits. This spell isolated Oromis from the energy around him, effectively preventing him from using anything other than small amounts of energy for the smallest spells. A side-effect of this spell was Oromis' vulnerability to occasional seizures that Glaedr referred to as "bone-blight nerve rot", which would temporarily incapacitate him. Therefore, he was "The Cripple Who Is Whole". Oromis escaped from the Forsworn by transporting himself and Glaedr to another place in space, changing who they were and rendering the wards placed around them by Formora and Kialandí useless and then flying off after Glaedr threw Kialandí onto his dragon's back spike. Then, Formora flew after and caught up with Glaedr, as well as sliced off the golden dragon's leg, allowing for him to outdistance the Forsworn and then flee to Ellesméra. The damage done to Oromis by the Forsworn was irreversible, but Oromis used small spells to increase what remained of his lifespan in the hope that he could train a new dragon and Rider in order to defeat Galbatorix. After Brom's dragon, Saphira I, had died, Oromis took Brom to Ellesméra. Brom soon left with the elven army to fight Galbatorix and his Forsworn. Oromis had to knock Brom unconscious to keep Brom from pestering the elven smith Rhunön to replace his old Rider's sword, after he lost his own and when Rhunön had already taken her oath to never make another weapon. After Brom killed Morzan, he returned to Ellesméra to visit Oromis. Brom told Oromis and Glaedr that he fathered Eragon and gave Oromis a fairth of Eragon's mother, Selena. First appearance to Eragon While Eragon was recuperating after killing the Shade Durza in the Battle under Farthen Dûr, he was tormented by a ghost of shadow. Oromis appeared to him in dreams and helped him fight with Durza's Spirit and told him to come to Du Weldenvarden to help him complete his training as a Dragon Rider. Eragon's training Eragon accepted the summons and traveled to Ellesméra, the capital of the elven kingdom, with Orik and Arya. On the second day of his visit, the elf queen Islanzadí took Eragon and Saphira II to the Crags of Tel'naeir where Oromis and Glaedr resided. Orik berated Oromis for hiding in Ellesméra when Alagaësia desperately needed a Dragon Rider. Oromis explained to Orik and Eragon that he had not openly opposed Galbatorix because of his disabilities. Eragon and Saphira II began training with Oromis and Glaedr immediately. Oromis was a strict teacher and expected absolute obedience from Eragon. Shortly after meeting him, Oromis took Eragon to his hut to gauge Eragon's abilities and knowledge on various subjects. Oromis also became frustrated by Eragon's lack of historical knowledge in Alagaësia and from learning that Eragon had accidentally cursed a child in Farthen Dûr he almost cast him out, had he not known that Eragon did not do it intentionally. Each day, Eragon would learn from Oromis, as well as Saphira II from Glaedr. In some lessons, Glaedr taught Eragon and Oromis taught Saphira II. Eragon and Saphira II learned many things about the ways of the Riders and more about the proper use of magic. Each day, Eragon was assigned to meditate in a glade to improve his mental power and focus, as well as being assigned a sparring partner, Vanir. During his lessons, Eragon's knowledge of magic was greatly expanded. Oromis originally reviewed fundamental magic with Eragon until Eragon became impatient. Oromis then taught Eragon how to safely remove an enemy's spell, detect poisons, as well as place wards around himself that protect from physical and magical attacks. Eragon also studied the ancient language in both verbal and written forms. As Eragon's training progressed Oromis taught him how to create fairths and how to sing plants into shape. Although usually not taught to novice Riders, Oromis taught Eragon more deadly secrets, such as how to kill with no more energy than lifting a finger and how to use magic without speaking the ancient language. Eragon and Oromis often discussed philosophical and moral topics. Oromis questioned Eragon as to why he was fighting Galbatorix and urged Eragon to reassess many of his preconceived notions of Urgals. Like all elves, Oromis did not partake in eating meat, which he explained to Eragon was to avoid unnecessarily killing other life forms. Oromis and other elves did not believe in any deities or an afterlife, which Eragon found surprising. Oromis answered many of Eragon's questions such as information about the Ra'zac, but was reluctant to answer others. He claimed to know where Galbatorix's power was coming from, but refused to provide Eragon with any more details. Because of Oromis' influence, Eragon learned to rise above both his frustration with the many demanding exercises and his growing feeling that he may have been incorrectly chosen as Saphira II's Rider (due to Vanir's criticism during sparring). During the Agaetí Blödhren, or Blood Oath Celebration, Oromis witnessed the dragon whose name cannot be said in any language gave him the gift of dragons which healed Eragon's back and granted him the physical and some mental abilities of an elf. This magic was designed to recreate the magic of the race of dragons as Oromis and other elven spell casters could not invent a way to heal Eragon themselves. Following the Agaetí Blödhren, Eragon mastered his meditations by being able to sense all life forms in his vicinity with equal focus. Following this accomplishment, Oromis showed Eragon how to cast spells with the energy from his surroundings as well as that inside his own body. Eragon left Ellesméra upon learning that Galbatorix dispatched his army to attack the Varden and Surda. Before departing, Oromis gave him three gifts. The first one was a copy of the poem Eragon recited at the Agaetí Blödhren written in Oromis's calligraphy, with artwork. The second was a bottle of enchanted faelnirv, that Oromis had given restorative powers. The last gift was the Belt of Beloth the Wise, a belt with twelve diamonds capable of storing magical energy. Eragon also learned he can store energy within the ruby of Zar'roc at this time. Interestingly, Eragon did not consider the Belt of Beloth the Wise to be the most valuable of Oromis' gifts, he considered the copy of his poem to be most valuable. Death Towards the end of Brisingr, Eragon and Saphira II returned to Ellesméra to ask Oromis and Glaedr questions that they needed answered. Most importantly: the source of Galbatorix's strength. Eragon was angry that Oromis never informed him that his father was Morzan. Glaedr corrected Eragon and informed him that his father is actually Brom. Following this revelation, Oromis explained to Eragon how Brom and Selena met, fell in love and conceived Eragon, as well as how his mother died and why she left him in the protection of his uncle, Garrow and his aunt Marian. Oromis and Glaedr informed Eragon that Galbatorix's power comes from the Eldunarí of dragons and also provided historical background information. Eragon recounted to Oromis his fortune told by Angela in Teirm and of the advice Solembum gave him. For whatever reason Eragon did not think it was necessary to do this previously. Oromis did not know of any weapon under the roots of the Menoa Tree and never heard of the Vault of Souls. The Rock of Kuthian sounded familiar to him but he did not remember where. He also told Eragon not to dwell too much on prophecies as they were not concrete. On the second day of Eragon's second visit to Ellesméra, Oromis taught him how to transport objects from one place to the next instantaneously. While searching for the weapon under the Menoa tree, Saphira II used violent methods to gain the trees attention. Oromis prevented any of the other elves from punishing Eragon and Saphira II. In the last seven chapters of Brisingr, we learn that Oromis joins Islanzadí in Gil'ead, as he believed that Eragon would have no more chances to return to him for training: he also doubted that he would have a chance to instruct a new rider, thus he saw hiding in Du Weldenvarden pointless. To compensate for his disabilities Oromis placed multiple wards around himself and Glaedr, as well as amassed a titanic store of energy in the diamond of his sword Naegling. With Oromis's blessing, Glaedr gave Eragon and Saphira II his Eldunarí in case he and Oromis died. Oromis, Glaedr, Eragon and Saphira II left Du Weldenvarden together. Once outside of the forest the two they separated so Oromis and Glaedr could fly to Gil'ead and Eragon and Saphira II could fly to Feinster. During the elven invasion of Gil'ead Oromis and Glaedr confronted Murtagh and Thorn. Despite Oromis's disadvantage of being crippled and Murtagh's advantage of having multiple Eldunarí to draw energy from, Oromis and Glaedr were able to hold their own against Murtagh and Thorn for the time being with the energy in Naegling's diamond. Oromis even believed that he and Glaedr would defeat Murtagh. Galbatorix interfered in the fight from a distance and cast a spell to hold Oromis, Glaedr, Murtagh and Thorn in place. During this time Galbatorix spoke to Oromis and Glaedr through Murtagh's mouth. Galbatorix apologized to Oromis for his past misdeeds and asked Oromis to help him create an era of peace throughout Alagaësia. Oromis refused to join sides with Galbatorix and insulted him. Galbatorix responded by saying that he had become as powerful as a god and that he would subject Oromis to a painful death, as well as steal Glaedr's Eldunarí. After his conversation with Oromis, Galbatorix allowed the fight between Oromis and Glaedr versus Murtagh and Thorn to recommence. Shortly afterward, Oromis had a seizure and dropped Naegling, leaving himself defenseless and unable to retreat as Galbatorix's spell remained intact. Murtagh slashed Oromis from shoulder to hip and told his dragon Glaedr to let him go into the void, killing him. It was said beforehand that an important character would die in the third book. Personality Oromis was an ancient and wise elf and his wisdom was even respected by Galbatorix who stated that he had been the wisest Dragon Rider in the Order. He was noted by Brom to be a good teacher but was also quite strict. Although he could be severe at times, Oromis was a very compassionate and understanding person, feeling sympathy for Eragon after learning about his feelings for Arya but nevertheless told him that killing Galbatorix was more important than his relationship with the beautiful elf. Powers and abilities Before the Fall of the Dragon riders Oromis was one of the eldest and most powerful Dragon Riders and was stated by Galbatorix to be the wisest of the Order.Brisingr He was highly skilled at magic and was a master swordsman. However, after the Fall of the Riders his powers were severely diminished due, in part, to injuries suffered during his escape from Kialandí and Formora of The Forsworn. The first injury was from a spell cast by Kialandí that was intended to sever the connection between Oromis and the flow of energy around him, resulting in Oromis no longer being able to call upon large energy stores when using magic. The second was from a physical condition that had laid dormant within Oromis since his birth. The strain of the spells that Oromis casted during the battle, or the rearrangement of certain atoms in his body, caused the condition to become active and Oromis would suffer from occasional painful seizures for the rest of his life. However, he was still a highly competent and formidable Rider due to his sheer amount of experience, mental prowess, mastery of swordsmanship, and the titanic energy stores he had placed in his blade, Naegling, over the course of a hundred years. During his battle with Murtagh, Oromis matched Murtagh blow for blow in their dragon-backed battle above Gil'ead. He was even capable of outmatching Murtagh's Eldunarí-enhanced mental prowess to the point that he was close to overpowering and gaining control of him before the timely intervention of Galbatorix. Despite this, Oromis continued to fight but he started to seize in the midst of battle. Because of this, he lost Naegling, which had powerful wards intended to protect Oromis bound to it. Before he could recover, he was fatally wounded by Murtagh. Description Oromis had long silver hair and similarly gray eyes. He normally chose to dress in bright white robes. On more formal occasions, he would wear ceremonial red and black garments, with black gloves. Like all elves, he lacked body hair aside from that upon his head. Comparisons Oromis can be compared to the Master Jedi,Yoda, from the Star Wars galaxy. Both of them were many centuries old, both trained many Dragon Riders/Jedi Knights and both moved to a distant place (Ellesméra(Crags of Tel'naeir)/Dagobah) when their Order was destroyed. The student (Eragon/Luke) leaves to save his friends in the middle of training promising his return. In addition, both of them died late in the series. The main difference is that Yoda died of old age, whilst Oromis was killed in battle. He can also be compared to Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter universe. Both are very old and mentor the main character. Likewise, both of the characters die by the end of the series. Interestingly, Oromis' apprentice Brom shares many characteristics with Albus Dumbledore as well. Also, his surname, Thrandurin, sounds like Thranduil, the Elven King from Lord of the Rings. References Category:Characters Category:Elves Category:Dragon Riders Category:Males Category:Magic users Category:Deceased Characters de:Oromis es:Oromis fi:Oromis fr:Oromis it:Oromis nl:Oromis pl:Oromis ru:Оромис